A Very Crunchy Moment

Do you know how to exercise, help the environment, get your teenager to practice driving and make a tiny bit of cash all at the same time? Huh, huh? Do ya?

I do.

You clean out your barn and load up all the metals that are laying around like twisted fences, odd poles, screens, broken basketball goals and so on and so forth and then you jump in the truck with all your kids and head to the recycling place. Then on the way you see lots and lots of cans that people have thrown in the ditches.

This bothers you on many levels.

You make your oldest two kids get out and walk along the ditches retrieving the cans and tossing them in the truck while you drive very slowly with them. Then you think what a great way to get some exercise.

So you pull over and make your daughter drive while you walk the ditches.

You do this on your way into town and the kids are hot and sweaty and so are you. You earn $17 for your metals and go spend it on corn dogs and milkshakes.

Then you go home a different way and make the kids walk the ditches again collecting more and more and more cans.

You may not get wealthy, but you will feel better about yourself and the road you live on.

Carmen

Let's rewind back to Friday, which seems like a decade ago.  

Carmen, my best childhood friend,  came for a visit.  I'd planned on going to eat somewhere girly, especially after I heard her order her lunch while talking to her via the phone, "Hold on April, I need to order my taco....uh, yeah, I'll take a Nacho Bell Grande..."  So her appetite for junk food has not changed.  Needless to say, I was still a little surprised when she suggested Mexican again for dinner.

  

She was the teenager that would raid our pantry and drink all the old orange soda and eat all the stale bags of chips.  I don't think I ever saw her turn down food.  I don't think I ever saw her gain weight.  She is still skinny and eats like a fat man.

It was bitterly cold and windy when we stepped out for the night, so we went to the first warm spot we found downtown.  It was a barbie Q joint.  We drank beer and ate bbq, we are such ladies. 

She wasn't too excited that I kept snapping photos of her.  I insisted it was for the blogger good, but ever since she's been denied access to my blog, well, she doesn't really understand my need to tell the world all the stupid details of my life.

After we ate we went to the local Christian bookstore/coffeehouse/art gallery.  It's a hoppin' spot.
Hey, St. Louisans!  That's Ryan Mayo (son of N. Mayo from CPC) on the guitar...he goes to my church.  The gal sitting on the stool is Jill Koch.

Carmen and art from Kansas.  

This painting of a burning field takes my breath away.  It's hot.

Who doesn't love some Indian stabbing bison sculpture?  Huh?  It's incredible.

Okay, that's all I've got.  I'm trying very hard to pretend I'm not coming down with the flu because Clay has reservations for us to go out tonight and I really want to go out to eat with my sweetheart.....almost as much as I want to crawl into my bed and not move for a few days.  Anyway, I've been trying to finish this post for days and this is the best I can do, so take it or stick it, either way.

Now, go say you love your honey's  and give them lots of hugs and kisses.

Ice Ice Baby...

We're in the middle of an ice storm and hopefully, we won't loose power again.  It went out about 3 a.m and then all the hard wired fire detectors started going off.  It was so stinkin' loud, we were trying to figure out how to turn them off in the pitch black.  It scared the bajeebas out of Ike and he didn't know what to do, so he just sat in his top bunk and cried until I was able to feel my way to his bed and rescue him.  Eventually, they went off, but I'm not sure how we did it or if we did it.  After that we had two little boys in our bed.  Two little boys that turn into giant coal fired furnaces and make it their mission to see just how small  a space their parents can cling to and still stay on the bed. 

I'm filling a big container up with water so we'll be able to flush the toilette.  I know, you all wanted that bit of info.

The worst news today......new furniture delivery postponed.  Waaahahahaahaaa!  Stupid ice storm, oh well, I still have Harry Pottah.

Word to ya Mothah

Int Ernet

This is the sign that caused me to nearly bust my doughy gut.  Listening to Clay read this sign made him sound like he was speaking some sort of tribal clicking language.  

This is the motel we got to stay in when we went to Scott City, KS for my grandfather's funeral.  I got to  sleep in the inquee nbeds, but I didn't bring my laptop so I wasn't able to try out their  freew ireless int ernet.